


You and Me

by MusicPlayer81



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, Ozai can still choke, in which Azula is actually a good sister, the sibling relationship we should have had
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25816222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPlayer81/pseuds/MusicPlayer81
Summary: Zuko adores his little sister. A vignette in which Azula is actually a good sister. Inspired by the Dessa song "Children's Work."
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Ozai/Ursa (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 128





	You and Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [immolationfox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/immolationfox/gifts).



> Zuko and Azula's canon relationship is fascinating, but absolutely heartbreaking. What would it have been like if they had had a functional sibling relationship instead? I credit @fortunati for the idea, and thank them for their friendship <3

When his parents told him there would be a surprise for him in the summer, he was hoping it would be a turtleneck pond of his own. Instead, he got a little sister, Azula, the little sister who reached for him as soon as she first saw him.

He didn’t know why he ever wanted a turtleneck pond. Azula was far, far better.

Zuko followed his little sister wherever she went, and she him. She could be found watching his bending lessons with rapt attention, later joining them herself. Likewise, Zuko listened intently to Azula’s music lessons, so much so that he picked up the Tsungi horn as an excuse to keep being part of her lessons. By his account, it was an idyllic life, just him and his sister.

Except it wasn’t. At least, not for his parents. For them, there was the question of Azula’s speech. Or rather, lack of it.

It wasn’t a question of if Azula could speak. She could—she always made the point of politely addressing the palace servants—but she chose not to. Zuko didn’t mind, opting instead to be his little sister’s mouthpiece to whoever addressed her. Neither did Ozai, who had gone through a similar period himself as a child. For Ursa, however, it drove her mad, which then drove Ozai mad. It created the more than occasional argument.

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad,” Zuko greeted as he and Azula ran to the dining room table for dinner. “We just had such a good music lesson! Azula and I _finally_ got our duet down, so now we can work on our solos for our end-of-year recital!”

“Oh that’s great, turtleduck.” Ursa smiled. “Azula, are you excited about your solo?”

“Oh yeah, Mom, she’s—“

“Ursa gestured for Zuko to stop speaking. Ozai huffed. He knew what was coming. “Zuko, love, I want to hear about it from Azula. Azula, honey, are you excited about your solo?”

Azula, who had been slurping her noodles, paused for a moment. She nodded before continuing to eat. Ursa sighed. “Azula—“

Ozai threw his chopsticks down on the table, causing Ursa to jump slightly. “Ursa.”

The Fire Lady nervously smoothed down her napkin. “Children, go to your rooms. Now.”

Zuko clutched the table fearfully. “Mom, I—“

Ozai turned to his son. “You heard your mother. Leave.” He took a deep breath as both children stood up and left. “You worry too much about the child who doesn’t speak and too little about the one who talks. He’s a failure of a firebender, and why? Because all he does is _talk!”_

If it was meant to be said out of earshot, it wasn’t. Zuko’s ears burned from the shame, and his eyes stung with tears. Azula promptly pulled him into a hidden alcove. Covered by curtains and located in a faraway corner of a less-trafficked hallway, there was no way anyone could find them.

No way anyone would hear Zuko crying.

“I don’t know why Dad doesn’t like me,” he sniffed, his head resting on his knees. “I know I’m not great at firebending, but I’m trying! I try and try, but it’s never good enough.” He wiped his tears with his hand. “Dad’s right, I do talk too much—“

“No you don’t.”

Zuko’s head shot up to see his little sister seated directly across from him, her amber eyes curiously watching him. “What?”

“You don’t speak too much,” Azula repeated, moving so that she was next to him. “Dad’s just used to being the only voice in the room. I like it when you talk. You know exactly what to say. I don’t.”

Zuko cocked his head towards her. “Is that why you’re always quiet?”

Azula nodded.

“You should at least try talking when Mom’s around. She doesn’t get it. I do.”

“But she doesn’t talk that much either!” Zuko stared at her. “Fine, I’ll talk in front of Mom.”

Zuko nodded, then continued to rest his head on his knees. Azula nudged him with her shoulder. “Zuzu, why are you sad still?”

Zuzu. She couldn’t pronounce his name when she was learning to speak, so that’s what she called him. The nickname stuck. He liked that he had. “Dad’s right about my firebending., though. I’m almost 10 years old and I barely moved up to intermediate katas. You’re two years younger than me and you’re more than halfway through. I know I hold you up in our lessons.”

“Yeah, you do.” Azula nodded sagely. “But I also hold you up in our music lessons.”

“What?!” Zuko sputtered, his cheeks reddening. “No you don’t!”

“You don’t need to lie, Zuzu.” Azula rolled her eyes. “It only took you a week to learn your part of the duet, and me a month. You’re really good at music. You’re really, really good.”

“Thanks,” he said, shifting to a cross-legged position. “You’re a really, really good sister, you know that?”

Azula grinned. “Yeah, I do.”

In the distance, they faintly heard their parents’ voices. They turned to each other, eyes wide. “Race you!” Azula said, bolting from their hiding place.

“It’s not a race if I beat you!” Zuko yelled, already gaining on Azula’s lead.

Their laughter reverberated through the hall. Would they get in trouble with their parents for not being in the rooms? Maybe.

But for right now, everything was perfect.


End file.
